Council News

Governor kicks off Kentucky Adult Learner Initiative at statewide summit

Governor Steve Beshear offered the opening address at the first Kentucky Adult Learner Summit hosted by the Council Feb. 4 in Lexington. Beshear addressed over 250 representatives of Kentucky's public and independent colleges, outlining his support for the Council's goal to double the number of college graduates by 2020 and emphasizing the importance of reaching out to working adults to earn their college degree. The summit brought national and state experts together with Kentucky’s college and university leaders to discuss the barriers that adult learners face in pursuing a college degree and ways that postsecondary institutions can better serve them.

Over the next year, the Council will convene policy work groups to draft recommendations to encourage more adults to pursue degrees. The Council also will provide each public university with $50,000 to assess how adult-friendly their campuses are and make policy and organizational changes to address areas that need improvement. The Kentucky Adult Learner Initiative and summit is funded through a $500,000 grant from Lumina Foundation for Education.

Governor proposes 12 percent budget cut to postsecondary education

Governor Steve Beshear unveiled his budget proposal Jan. 29, which includes a 12 percent cut to postsecondary and adult education. Beshear’s budget also includes more than $300 million to restore previously vetoed bond projects, many at universities, and $60 million in bonds to fund another round of Bucks for Brains. The budget is now under review by the General Assembly, which is exploring ways to increase revenue to address state budget problems, including consideration of an increase in state cigarette tax. The Council reviewed a summary analysis of the Governor’s budget outlining its affects on postsecondary and adult education at its Feb. 1 meeting.

"This is a highly collaborative process and we are still in the very early stages,” said Brad Cowgill, interim president of the Council on Postsecondary Education. “We look forward to working with the Governor, legislative leaders and university presidents to craft a budget that will not impede the significant progress Kentucky has made in postsecondary education reform in the last ten years."

College enrollment continues to break records

Kentucky’s public universities and community and technical colleges enrolled 212,994 students in fall 2007, a 3.2 percent increase over last fall and a 34.4 percent increase since postsecondary education reform began in fall 1998. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and Kentucky State University saw the largest growth in undergraduate enrollment, up 7.3 percent and 7.2 percent over 2006, respectively. Enrollment in distance learning also continues to increase, with an 8 percent increase at public universities and an 18.7 percent increase at KCTCS over last year.

County profiles show link between education and prosperity in Kentucky

The Council released the 2008-10 Kentucky Postsecondary Education County Profiles this month, a biennial publication that illustrates the relationship between education, the economy and social issues in Kentucky. A variety of charts and maps included in the report highlight some of the Commonwealth’s more critical issues, such as poverty, unemployment and Medicaid. Profiles for each county, area development district and postsecondary education service region include information on educational attainment, college readiness and participation, employment by sector, undergraduate enrollment and financial aid.

STEM Task Force reviews action plans

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Task Force met Feb. 6 in Frankfort to review reports developed by seven study groups, which have been working since the task force report was released in early 2007. The study group reports, each focused on one of the task force’s seven recommendations, provide a detailed and coordinated blueprint to improve Kentucky’s performance in the STEM disciplines. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Council, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and the Council of State Governments’ Midwestern Office with funding from Lumina Foundation for Education. Dr. Pearse Lyons, president of Alltech, gave the keynote luncheon address, and a legislative discussion panel featuring Senator Dan Kelly, Senator Ken Winters and Representative Harry Moberly addressed current and proposed STEM legislation.

Colleges and universities make strides in enrolling, retaining and hiring African Americans

According to a recent report issued by the Council, Kentucky’s public postsecondary institutions are making progress in enrolling, retaining and hiring more African Americans. The Council’s degree program eligibility report is an annual report card that measures institutional success in these areas and requires that each college or university maintain current performance or improve in order to be eligible to propose new degree programs each year. The 2008 report reviewed by the Council at its Feb. 1 meeting showed that all eight public universities and 15 community and technical colleges qualify to propose new degree programs, as compared to seven universities and 12 community and technical colleges in 2007. This is the first time since 1993 that all eight public universities and this many community and technical colleges have qualified at the highest level of performance, which is automatic eligibility. The Council commended the institutions for their efforts and challenged them to continue to perform at this level.

 

RESEARCH TOPICS IN EDUCATION

The 21st Century Agenda for State Planning and Policy in Higher Education

This white paper from the State Higher Education Executive Officers examines the shift of focus in higher education planning and policy from growth of facilities, institutions and programs to increasing educational attainment, quality and productivity.

The Fiscal Consequences of Adult Educational Attainment

This paper from the National Commission on Adult Literacy examines the earnings of adults according to their level of education and in terms of the impact those earnings have on the fiscal affairs of the states and the lives of individuals.

Challenges in Assessing Postsecondary Readiness

This National Commission on Adult Literacy policy brief examines the major assessments in use today to measure adult learning gains and determine student placements.

Aligning High School Graduation Requirements with the Real World: A Road Map for States

This policy brief from Achieve, Inc. addresses the most frequently cited challenges of policy design as well as strategies for implementation, communication and coalition building.

2007 College-Bound Seniors in Kentucky- State Profile Report

The College Board publishes a profile for each state containing data for high school graduates in 2007 who participated in the SAT Program.